Alleged United Blood Nation Gang Members Indicted on Racketeering Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office
May 23, 2012

Western District of North Carolina(704) 344-6222

CHARLOTTE, NC—Twenty-seven alleged members of the United Blood Nation gang were arrested on Friday, May 18, 2012 and charged with racketeering and related charges. The 35-count indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Charlotte.

Today’s announcement is made by Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina; and Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division.

According to the indictment, which was returned by a grand jury on May 16, 2012, the defendants conspired to participate in a racketeering enterprise; that is, the United Blood Nation (“UBN” or “Bloods”) and several factions of the UBN. The indictment alleges that from 2007 to May 2012, in the Western District of North Carolina and elsewhere, the defendants conspired to operate as a gang. In doing so, the indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in criminal activities, including racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, armed robbery, and firearms related crimes.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants engaged in drug trafficking and used the proceeds of their drug crimes to help finance the gang’s criminal activities. In addition to drug trafficking, the indictment alleges that the defendants committed armed robberies and armed home invasions in order to generate proceeds to support the enterprise. The indictment also alleges that as part of the conspiracy, the defendants committed acts of violence against rival gang members. Allegations contained in the indictment also state that the defendants concealed their criminal activities and obstructed justice, including threatening potential witnesses. The indictment further alleges that the defendants maintained and circulated a collection of firearms for the use in criminal activity by UBN members.

The indictment alleges that the defendants and other UBN gang members in North Carolina and elsewhere identified gang members belonging to other UBN or Bloods factions by their gang names and phone numbers, including telephone area codes. For example, the indictment alleges, area code “704” represented gang factions within Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties. The indictment also alleges that gang members identified other gang members who were incarcerated by their street gang names and by their inmate identification numbers, in lieu of their telephone numbers. The members incarcerated were referred to as “behind the G wall,” the indictment alleges.

According to the indictment, as gang members of the UBN enterprise, the defendants met regularly with other UBN members. The indictment alleges that during those meetings, gang members talked about past acts of violence and other crimes against rival gang members, about UBN gang members who had been arrested or incarcerated, about police interactions with gang members, and discussed internal disciplinary action of other UBN members. The indictment further alleges that during these meetings, gang members also shared identities of individuals whom they suspected to be cooperating with law enforcement and discussed the types of action that ought to be taken against those individuals. The indictment further alleges that during these meetings, UBN members also planned and agreed to carry out future crimes, including murder, robbery, and drug trafficking.

“Street gangs spread violence in our cities and fear in our neighborhoods. Gang members engage in a range of illegal activities, from drug trafficking to armed robbery to conspiracy to commit murders. Through coordinated enforcement actions, we will pursue relentlessly dangerous gangs and dismantle their illegal activities that bring violent crimes to our streets and erode the stability of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins.

“The FBI is committed to dismantling the gangs that threaten the safety and stability of our neighborhoods. This two-year investigation is an outstanding example of what federal, state, and local law enforcement can accomplish when we attack the gangs that operate in our communities,” said FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Chris Briese.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; the Gastonia Police Department; the Gaston County Police Department; the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office; the Shelby Police Department; and North Carolina Department of Probation and Parole.

The prosecution is handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose and Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.